White House under fire for delays on food safety rules

Lack of enforcement could lead to dire consequences, activists warn

July 18, 2012|By Monica Eng, Chicago Tribune reporter

Dana Dziadul, 14, nearly died after eating cantaloupe tainted with salmonella as a toddler, says her mother, Colette. They are joining other food safety advocates in urging the White House to implement provisions of a federal law that President Barack Obama signed in January 2011. (HANDOUT)

In 2001, 3-year-old Dana Dziadul ate some cantaloupe at a brunch buffet that sent the toddler to the hospital for four days. It was tainted with salmonella bacteria, part of a national outbreak that caused illness and death in 14 states.

Determined to help prevent others from suffering the same fate, Dana and her mother, Colette, are joining other food safety advocates in urging the White House to implement provisions of a federal law President Barack Obama signed in January 2011.

The Food Safety and Modernization Act ushered in the most sweeping food safety changes in 70 years. But the White House Office of Management and Budget has failed to meet at least three statutory deadlines to review and present rules on new safety standards for high-risk produce and imported foods, among other measures.

Food poisoning is estimated to strike 1 in 6 Americans each year.

"As the mother of a child who almost died and continues to suffer from the consequences of the illness," Dziadul said, "it's frustrating that people are still getting sick in this country because of what they eat, and we are not doing what we need to do to cut down on those illnesses through implementation of these laws."

On Tuesday, a broad coalition of food safety advocates, including the Pew Health Group, STOP Foodborne Illness, Center for Science in the Public Interest and Food & Water Watch, called on the Obama White House to respect the deadlines in the name of public health or explain why they are not being met.

Erik Olson, director of food programs for the Pew Health Group, said there is widespread support from Democrats and Republicans for the new protections.

"We have been given no good reasons for the delay, which has been causing some real problems," Olson said. "In fact (because of the delays), the FDA just sent out a letter to industry saying that they are suspending enforcement of the new key protections under the law until the rules are finalized."

Food safety groups are especially upset about delays in implementing two provisions of the law. One would require food facilities to conduct a hazard analysis and develop plans to reduce the risk of illness caused by their products. The other would require foreign suppliers to establish a program to verify the safety of their food products.

The budget office said it is working on both provisions but would not say when either will be implemented. In an email, Moira Mack, spokeswoman for the office, said: "When it comes to rules with this degree of importance and complexity, it is critical that we get it right."

The Food and Drug Administration confirmed that it will not enforce the provisions for the time being.

The food safety coalition Tuesday sent a letter to Obama suggesting that the delays and lack of enforcement could lead to dire consequences.

"Americans will continue to get sick and even die from food-borne disease as your administration continues to hold up the safety rules," the letter states.

The call for action arrives as the United States continues to import more foreign food products, including from China, where food safety scandals persist. It also occurs less than a year after cantaloupes caused the deadliest food-borne illness outbreak the country had seen in decades.

For Chicagoan and STOP Foodborne Illness spokeswoman Nancy Donley, this time of year marks another sad anniversary. Her 6-year-old son Alex died 19 years ago after complications from E. coli poisoning from a hamburger.

"This same pathogen has made it into spinach and lettuce, causing outbreaks," Donley said. "And so it is so important that we put in place these prevention-based methods to keep it from happening to more people. It is a brutal, horrible death, and it's because of Alex's memory that I work so hard. Here I am 19 years later, and I can tell you the grief and pain never goes away."